Puerto Rican Politics Gets Ugly On Twitter After Photo Of Rafael Cox Alomar Is Posted With The Words R.I.P. Yuyo

There’s a firestorm of controversy over a photo that was posted on Twitter Monday of Puerto Rican politician Rafael Cox Alomar, a black Puerto Rican who is running for the office of Puerto Rican resident commisioner in Washington, with the words R.I.P. Yuyo. Yuyo is the name of a famous chimp who died in a San Juan zoo last week.

The image sparked repudiation by Twitter users, since it was disseminated from the account of the former speaker of Puerto Rico’s lower house, Zaida Hernández, of the governing PNP.

Hernández distanced herself from the photo and said she had no idea how the photo came to be tweeted from her account, but she said that it must be the work of hackers.

“I started on Twitter a week ago. I don’t know what the photo is about, and I haven’t seen it. I’m not capable of such a despicable act. I discuss my business right up front,” Hernández said.

Cox Alomar, meanwhile, said that the matter was about “low politics” that the Puerto Rican people reject.

He said that the the “politics of underhanded racism” has no place in the 21st century and that this is not the first racial attack against him since he launched his candidacy to represent Puerto Rico in the U.S. Congress.

The elections for governor and resident commissioner will be held on Nov. 6.

SMH… This monkey stuff is not funny. And it has no place in politics. We can understand folks being upset.